Three Roads

[0:00] before we turn back to Genesis chapter 32 we'll have a short word of prayer oh eternal God we come this evening anew depending solely upon thy spirit to quicken us because we need the reviving influence of the Holy Spirit to bring us out of the deadness that we are in by nature and revealing Christ Jesus to us oh bless each one of us together give us an entrance into thy word as we meditated upon it light in thy word and we would get an entrance in that would revive us and see that we would see more and more of the blessedness of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ go before us and keep us and we ask all for Jesus' sake Amen turn again to chapter 32 of Genesis and said we're going to look at Jacob and if you wanted a text it's in the very first verse of chapter 32 and Jacob went on his way and in a way in a real way that is what I'm going to look we're going to look at tonight the way Jacob goes Jacob's road the road for Jacob and we're going to look at three roads first of all we look at a revealed road and secondly we look at a returning road and thirdly we look at a royal road and I started this last week I think I had about seven hours but today I decided to cut it down to three I didn't want to bore you and maybe I'll bore you too much by the end but we had to cut it down and even by cutting it down I still at the end of today by five o'clock today

[2:11] I felt that I think I was going on and on a wee bit but anyway we'll we'll try we'll try first of all then our revealed road well if you go back to Genesis 27 we read there that we have an amazing incident some some people by the way are very very heavy on Jacob they criticize Jacob for how he treated his brother Esau and the way he the way he was but but but deep inside there is something good about Jacob he's a good man and here we have in chapter 27 towards the end of the chapter we find that his mother Rebecca now Rebecca was a wonderful woman as well she was a godly woman a godly mother and she knew what God had told her you see that the promise was from God was to Jacob remember when he was born when the twins were born Esau and Jacob and Jacob was had his his his had grasped the heel of Esau as they came out of Rebecca's womb but the promise was was was was to to Jacob God's promise was to Jacob and God told Rebecca that and and he told Jake Isaac as well and that that that that the younger would serve the older but then you have the history you know the history

[3:54] I'm not going to go over the history of how Jacob deceived his brother into getting the and there was deception in it there's no doubt at all about that because in one way they did that his way rather than God's way so there was a deception in it but yet here we have it at the end of chapter 27 and we find after the deception he saw is so riled as a result of what's happened he's determined verse 41 he hated Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with his father blessed him and Esau said to in his heart the days of mourning for my father at hand then will I slay my brother Jacob and these words went back to Rebecca I don't know what was Rebecca in the hearing of it possibly she was and she told a a Jacob about this but it wasn't because of that then she told Jacob at then you notice that that uh she said she says to him in in verse 43 therefore my son obey my voice and arise flee thou to labor and uh that my brother to Haran way up in the north way up Mesopotamia where where where where Abram had come from but it wasn't then because then it was as if she had a discussion a family discussion notice the family discussion in verse 46 between Rebecca and Isaac and Rebecca turns it I am she says look at it

[5:26] I am weary of my life because of the daughters of heth now the daughters of heth were the daughters of the moabites the the the around them that was that was around came and at that time and Esau had taken wives from these people rather than stay with his own people Esau had and he deliberately did it because there was something there was something there was something how can I say it about Esau um there was a an element of of of of uh dislike to almost to his mother and to his father in Esau and there wasn't there wasn't the the the what we would call almost the the holiness of of Jacob if we'd like to call it that Jacob was a good man but Esau was not a good man he was a bit of a wicked man because he did this he knew fine that his mother and his father did not want him to marry the the the heathen women around him but he did it deliberately but anyway there was there was a family discussion in 46 and look at chapter 28 Isaac called Jacob it was Isaac that had asked toward told Jacob you should go for a wife to your mother's to your mother's father these your daughters of laban you they were obviously in in contact obviously Rebecca had left labor left Bethuel but there was obviously contact contact between them so therefore he said to them that that it it wasn't it wasn't Rebecca that asked him it was it was a Isaac that asked Jacob to go now that's interesting that is an interesting because in one sense Jacob did not go on his own it was his father that advised him to go and his mother had advised him to go and we find that he went now notice then we have in chapter 28 and this is what what i'm trying to get at it was a revealed road because look at look at chapter 28 at verse 5 we have it we have an and Isaac sent away Jacob and he went to Paddan Aram and then we have there we have then we have the wonderful meeting if you go on then to verse 15 to verse 11 11 and 12 and so on you have Jacob's dream now we are we're all acquainted with Jacob's dream how he saw the ladder going up to heaven and he saw and he heard God's voice from it they heard what happened there but but in particular notice verse 15 this is the promise the revelation to Jacob that the road he was going on was a revealed and it was in in in the providential dealings of God it was all God's leading although God was God wasn't in it in that sense we find here look what he says to him he says to him verse 15 behold i am with thee and will keep thee in all places with the ghost and i will bring thee again into this land for i will not leave thee until i have done that which i have spoken to thee of so there it was there was a revealed road for

[8:59] Jacob to go on in other words he was going in the providence of God it's fair enough that Isaac's father had done it Rebecca's done it but God was giving his amen to him Jacob and there we have then Jacob giving a vow uh to to God did you see that there you know there he says to to to him to him there in verse 20 Jacob vowed a vow first vow we have in the bible very first vow he says to him there if God will be with me and will keep me in this way that i go and will give me bread to eat some people think that there is a bit of how can i unbelief in Jacob here when he puts the word if not so that word can be translated again if then you see what God had said to him God had given him the promise that he would be with him and that he would uh that he would progress him that he would be with him wherever he went and there we have then and John Gill in his commentator commentating on this says that is not that is not a a a bit of of how can how can we put it a unbelief on Jacob's part if

[10:14] God will be with me and will keep me in this way that i he says you can put in translate that for since since since God will be with me and will keep me he says so that i will come again because he says there i will come again to my father's house and peace because God had said to him that he in verse 15 he says i will bring thee again into this land he he was put he was he was giving his amen to Jacob to go and he's going to pardon him but he was going to bring uh uh Jacob back because let's this is this is this is this is is god's people we're talking about and this will eventually lead to the savior the messiah that was going to come into the world you know this the amazing providences of God i was thinking that when i was when i was when i was reading this do you know that the savior did not come i'm digressing i i i i'm digressing already you know that the savior did not come through richard you'd expect that wouldn't you because that was that was the wife whom he loved came through leah fifth son leah's fifth son was judah that was a promise when i when i looked through this that's amazing isn't it because leah wasn't the the the the wife that that that that uh jacob really really wanted he wanted richard didn't he and he got leah by deception by deception folks and by deception i'm putting that in inverted commas by deception judah came through because she was i think she was a fifth son you could correct me on that if i'm wrong therefore we had the lineage of the savior anyway that's that's a a diagonation anyway he's made it he's made the vow and he's gone if god will be with me and keep me and always that i go i come again to my father's house then shall the lord be my god and he killed called the name of that place bethel that is the house of god you know that is remarkable it's remarkable that he was going to he knew he had this in him again that he was going to come back he wasn't going to go for the long time he was hoping that he was going for the short time but anyway he left it was a revealed road for him now friends life for you and for me is like a road it's a way i used to uh teach with ken mcleod in melbos i don't know some of you may know him alec mcleod from ken he's a great man lovely man a wonderful christian and uh we used to do uh lessons in school and we had scripture union in school and he always used to say he says our lives he says are like a hand breath and he says my road is up there's a road in the hand but that's what it is and the road and he was looking at this and as we're getting older we've seen plenty of lines in our hands and he says i am up here some of you young ones are down here this is the road we're on we're on this road some our lives are like a road some longer some shorter and this road is coming to an end some soon some not so soon but it's coming to an end we're all destined to die we're going to eternity every one of us some of us have christ as our hope and we hope that that life that we now have will go on into eternity in with christ because christ says i am the life so therefore we're going on but he also but but this life there is a life that starts at conversion if we're in christ and sometimes that road is compared to the children of israel

[14:19] coming out of egypt first of all there's the captivity in egypt and then there is the coming out captivity of sin in sin you're coming out of egypt leaving egypt the release out of egypt and then there is the entrance into the wilderness and some of us can say this world this life is like a wilderness and then we have then in that in that life we have we've got samara some elums ups and downs and then we have the crossing of the jordan and the entry into where the promised land the land filled with milk and honey so therefore our land is and i was looking at the the children of israel we see in exodus chapter 13 this is when god says to god is telling the children of israel that they are to leave egypt he says first chapter 13 verse 17 and it came to pass when pharaoh had let the people go that god led them god led them shake up god was leading them you don't think that is but god was leading them and god will lead you and me dear friend that is sure if we're in christ he will lead you maybe you're thinking that he doesn't maybe you're thinking that you're on a byway or you've gone out of the way and this is what he said to them there's verse 29 of that same chapter and the lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them and in a pillar of cloud but an unpillar of fire by night to lead them that was their leading what was their leading when they came to jordan when they came back when they were going out into into the jordan when they were crossing the jordan the ark remember what they were told to do they were told to put the ark first and it says there in joshua chapter 3 you can read it for yourself when you see the ark of the covenant of the lord your god and the priests of the levi's bearing it then you shall stand up you shall remove from your place go after it and look at it and where the ark goes you go what was the ark a type of christ isn't it what was the pillar of fire by night a type of christ then you move into the new testament you see in the old testament their dependence was entirely on the lord they were to depend entirely on then when we move into the new test remember a savior he's in the upper upper room uh judas iscariot has gone out he's going to talk in verse chapter 14 chapter 14 to 18 onwards chapter 14 he says to them he's telling them that he's going to go away and he's telling that he's going away to prepare a place for them and that he would come again and he's interrupted by philip philip turns around to him and he says lord he says we know not where you're going we're not where the ghost how can we know the way what does jesus say to him i am the way the truth and the life no man comes unto the father but by me i am the way this is the new testament teaching here he is christ is the way he is the leader chapter hebrews chapter 12 here's it again remember the writer to the hebrews he's finished telling about in chapter 11 he's giving this whole about the great cloud of witnesses and then in chapter 12 he begins this wherefore seeing we are also compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race set before us what what's the next one looking unto jesus

[18:30] the author and the finisher of our faith he's telling us put away the weight you know and i know what the weight of sin that we have i have a weight of sin that you haven't got on you have your own sins i've got my own you we've all got to have our own sins and these sins weight us down so terribly don't they sometimes they'll tell us that we shouldn't come out to the prayer meeting sometimes they'll say to us i'm not going up the premieres and be put up to pray who am i to be put up to pray do you ever find that do you ever find yourself saying to yourself why on earth am i bothering to go out the prayer meeting why on earth is it what on earth is in me after what i did last night after what i thought this morning after after i did today let us weigh them aside put them behind us cast them behind you and look to jesus that's the way that's that's the way in a way that jacob was doing it was revealed to him that this was the way that he's going when i was reading that this afternoon you know i was thinking well you know if we could only drink good what's written hebrews chapter 12 let us lay aside every weight or friends take every phrase of that and apply it to yourself and the sin which do is so be said and let's get and let's look to where let's look to jesus and if we only could it would be good for us looking unto jesus that was the revealed that's our revealed road in our new testament in tolsta tonight that's our revealed road i don't see in any of this when i read we look jacob he doesn't he never says i'm not going you know that he never said to his mother or to his father i don't want to go i'll i'll sort these all out did you notice never never thought he obeyed and he obeyed because and that therefore he obeyed therefore he got the revelation that he got revealed to to him because on his way there whether it was at bethel you'll find later on that he he he gets it revealed even in a dream when he's with labor and then we have pennier later on which we have the time to go on to tonight maybe maybe if i if i return on you you won't be so bored and you'll say well we'll maybe go to a second second part part of this but anyway next we go on to a returning road jacob had spent 20 years with labor seven years for seven years for for for yeah seven years for for richard he thought i must nothing he said because he then had ritual 14 years don't know if you've waited 14 years for your wife from what a pickle no there you are please that's a that's a sign of devotion there you are he took 14 years working for labor and then there apparently there's another six year he does he say to himself that there was 20 years he spent with with with with uh with labor 20 years and then we find at the beginning of the the the beginning of chapter 31 we could begin of chapter 31 we've got there that things aren't plain sailing there's strife between labor between labans it would appear that laban's sons and and uh and their their sisters i get that feeling there was life in the home

[22:38] and there was something there was something that there was there was something going on there yeah it is there he heard the words of laban's sons this is jacob jacob has taken away all that her father's and of that which were the father's health had gotten uh all this glory so and jacob noticed that laban wasn't to him as he used to be so you know that you you get that do you ever get that feeling that that sometimes we've got we we've got this in our minds anyway maybe you're not talking to somebody somebody doesn't talk to you you've got something against me donald you'd some compassion you and i said he didn't say hello to me today you know do you know the feeling that that can multiply itself but it multiplied itself in jacob so that as he says the countenance of laban was not toward jacob as he used to be and then we read at chapter 3 verse chapter 31 and the lord said unto jacob and it would appear that this happened in a dream because he tells uh rachel and leah about this later on in verse 11 of that chapter he tells them that was an angel of god speak to me in a dream say jacob and i said here am i and he tells them look what he says to him the lord said unto jacob return return unto the land of thy fathers and to thy kindred and the promise again i will be with thee so it was with him first of all when he was revealed to him now he is returning so it's a returning road he's going back the way then look at it we have it we have it there at verses 17 and 18 he's told leah and rachel look at it verse 17 then jacob rose up he rose up what did he do said his sons and his wives upon camels and he carried away all his cattle he went he went when the lord told jacob to go jacob went where the lord told jacob to go jacob did do that he was he was he was assured that the lord would be with him later on we'll find again that that that that that changed with jacob that did change later on it changed at the book chabok but he had this year when he got money got the word without hesitation god that that from god jacob returned my friends with us the christian life the road of the christian it's not only a revealed road it's a returning road what do i mean by that do you ever feel that you need to return to the lord i do nearly every day do you feel it does the word return return come back to you often does to me because i find sometimes that i'm not in the place i should be so i need to return we're almost like the prodigal or i shouldn't say we're almost like the prodigal i shouldn't say almost remember when the prodigal was away in a fat country remember what he said to them he realized when he was in hunger i will return to my father not what he said i will return to i came from him i had plenty when he was there i will return and say to him lord i've sinned father i've sinned against heaven on thy side do you often say that is that often your prayer sometimes at night i'll tell you it's mine i've got that prayer on my lips almost constantly father forgive me that's what i say i have sinned against him and in your sight make me to be one of your hired servants he asked he returned uh i was

[26:43] reading a bit about uh richard sibbs richard sibbs was a he was one of the great puritans of the the the 17th century not that i i i i go into it but he has some very good writings and i dip into some of these that from time to time not that i some of them i can't i sometimes i read a page of it and i wonder what i've read i started before but richard sibbs as is a wonderful you're a wonderful uh bit of writing on hosea 14. now if you go to i what i see a 14 it says there always will return unto the lord thy god remember return return and he says this about chap 14. the only course for the black slider now if we're honest we're all backsliders we have we're all every one of us and i don't see i can't see that any of us would say we're we haven't backslidden somewhere or other here tonight we're all backsliders the only course for the backslider is to repent and this city says take your words to god and confess your sin to him that's it that's a simplicity but he says this satan he says has two eyeglasses that's what he calls two two telescopes one he says he looks through one looking through one he says big things seem small and so he makes our sins seem insignificant it's only a reason so now you know do you hear people say that today do you hear it's only i can't well i only said that swear really it's always i don't be honest there's no such thing as waste but he does and he does it in the church of god and he'll do it to me and he does it to you not right he makes some of our sins it's not really really it's not that big a sin really and this is the other the other eyeglass he says makes small things seem huge so when the backslider sim says tries to return satan exaggerates the task and makes the problems seem enormous define that don't you ah he's great at this one he's telling us these sins see that sin see that thought i had uh coming out here today see that thought i had last time see that thing i saw on the television when i lingered long upon the television and i shouldn't have lingered at all when i saw this photograph in the paper and i shouldn't have i've done it you know that gentlemen especially you know that you know sometimes we've got this and we seem to and he exaggerates to such an extent that you're so sick of yourself so so sick of yourself that you don't go to pray you ever find that you're so so full of the self-sin that you don't you don't go to sin ah he sends he goes on and he says this listen to this i will heal their backsliding i will love them freely for mine anger is turned away from him oh friends who on earth is like this who can say that this i have done this sin and i have sinned against light and i have done that sin and he comes with terms like this i will love you freely oh child of god what a position you're in with your savior i will heal you freely it's just as if he's he's he's he's willing you to come back and he's so i is he's so he's more willing uh for you to come back than you that that that than you are to come to him but this is what he says this is the god of forgiveness this is the god of the returner the god of jacob

[30:48] is our refuge and finally a royal road a royal road for jacob this road was not only a revealed road wasn't only a returning road it was a royal road how do you mean that well we just mentioned it chapter 28 verse 12 what did he see on the road the ladder who was beside him on the ladder the lord himself was there was that not a royal road he had more going angels of god were ascending descending that was the road that was him on the road it's a royal road then we find it in chapter 32 i've taken the whole half an hour and i'm still i haven't got it to 32 here we are in 32 and chapter verse 2 what does he see when jacob saw them the first first verse it is and jacob went on his way and the angels of god met him and when jacob saw them he said this is god's host and he called the name of that place mahana what does mahana mean two hosts what did he see he saw a host of angels behind him and he saw a host of angels in front of him my on his road was that a royal road what a royal road he had a he had the angels protecting them from behind and he had angels leading them in the front he wasn't aware of it until he opened until the lord opened his eyes here and he was and they were there and chapter 28 he called it the house of god that's what he called it he was going to here we have it and he's calling it the house of two hosts songs man here it's it's a host behind me and a hosted front of me protection from behind he was on a royal road he's under the protection of the king he's under the protection of the creator himself and friends so too are you so too are you you're on a royal road if you're in christ angels are your companions ah do you do you think so yes it is what does that what does david say in sam 34 he's fled from from saul he's he's he's fled to the king of the philistines abimelech he's made himself out to be a madman david his beard dripping with spittle he's climbing the wall with his nails and he's pretending to be mad imagine and then he goes into the cave of adulam and he writes chapter sam 34 verse 36 this poor man cried and the lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles but he went on the angel of the lord encamps and round encompasseth all those all those that do him fear and them delivereth take that friends that's what he's saying that's the same with you sometimes it's difficult to believe it i've never seen an angel have you but some people have but they're there they're there and we have and i believe it i believe that the angels are present here tonight second kings chapter 6 16 remember elisha the syrians are besieging the city servant comes up to him and he says to him alas whole host of a whole host of syrian army surrounding the city and the servant comes back to him and he says to my last my master what shall we do we're finished look at that look at that what does he say fear not said for they that be with us are more than they that would be against us and he asked then to open the eyes of the of the servant

[34:51] and when the servant saw what did he see a host he saw a host there and he saw and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around elisha around elisha so it is today the lord doesn't leave you friend he's not going to leave you if only we are realized we realized what how many times the lord has sent angels to help us we don't know maybe we will in heaven i don't know if we will but there are times when he has helped you paul knew very well what what that was he's uh he tells us in ephesians and we'll finish with this he's advising the ephesians from uh in chapter 6 he tells the ephesian believers to put on the armor of god he tells them to put on the whole armor of god not just one or two things the whole armor of god why that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil for he says what does he say for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world world against spiritual wickedness in high places what does he mean by that well i think he means by that that that that satan's force are around you continually and will take advantage of you in the the least little slip we will take because they are they are they are they are they are ministering angels of the devil and they are there and there is a there is a constant warfare going on in the spiritual world friends and it's the good angels are coming and i and if you take scripture as it as it is the angels are there and there's a constant war between angels of the good and angels of the bad and there is a protection how how how do you say that how on earth are we preserved my friends we if there was one devil of an angel he would overcome me like that just like that but there is way i have to accept psalm 34 the angels of the lord in camps and round it come all those that do him fear that's me and you and we must remember we should never forget the ministry of angels they are sent messengers from the lord himself and he enables us to be protected by them they are invisible but they are there and the very fact of it all is and that's why it's our royal road that's why you'll be kept dear friend oh you're here tonight and you're saying to yourself i'll never make it i'll never make it he that puts his trust in jesus will make it because he promises like he promised to jacob i will be with thee that's what he said to jacob and that's what he says to you because there is a greater than jacob with you and that is christ is your portion and christ will keep you i'll finish off with a wee story and then we'll finish it i'm sure you've heard this one before there was a a young man and he had left home he left his parents the old parents were getting elderly and he decided to go on do his own thing in the cities this was in america in the cities and he came to himself one day and he decided to return and he sent a telegram to his parents telling them he had actually fallen out with his parents he told them he didn't want any more to do with the gospel didn't want them to see he says i'm coming he says on such and such a day such and such a train the train will be passing your house if you really really if i'm really welcome if i if you want me back

[38:55] put a white cloth outside and he was going past the house in the train and he says to the person he says my house is coming here he said i can't look well you look he says to see he says if there's a white cloth outside to see if i'm welcome and a woman beside him said to him i can't only see one white cloth he says the house is covered the house is covered in white cloths oh friends that's the savior we have that's the savior you and i have the house his house is covered with white cloths and he welcomes you back what a wonderful thought that is isn't it that's what the the returning prodigal comes back the returning backslider comes back the returning sinner comes back and he'll receive you he will love you freely may he bless our meditation this evening sorry for going on i'm not the only problem with donald to um expound in um getting lost in my first point we'll um we'll conclude by singing to god's prayers in psalm 145 psalm 145 the second second version the lord our god is gracious compassionate is he also it is the first one second version first and second version because that was second version then the the lord our god is gracious compassionate is he also and mercy he is plenteous it is but then to wrath and anger i find him who'll become without probing his death if it isn't anymore i have an attached discussion oh

[41:14] Thank you.

[41:44] Thy words of praise to thee have formed. Thy saints, O Lord, thy name shall bless.

[42:03] The glory of thy kingdom's shore shall lay on top.

[42:17] Thy power tell, thy soul and son, His kings may know, His kingdom's chains that doth excel.

[42:39] Amen. Let's close with a short word of prayer. O Lord, we give thanks for thy goodness to us and giving us the opportunity to meditate upon thy word and help us to see the wonder of it and the wonder of such a gracious, compassionate God who extends his love to us again this evening and asks us to return.

[43:04] O blessed one, grant that we would come again to thy footstool, acknowledging thy goodness to us. Bless us all. Keep us as we go home to our houses in safety. Bless us the rest of this week.

[43:16] And we ask it for Jesus' sake. Amen. Amen.